APPROXIMATELY 1,500 families in Almeria struggle to cope with the costs of cancer.
According to a report released by the Cancer Observatory of the Spanish Association Against Cancer (AECC), 3,400 new cases of cancer were found in the province last year, with only half of them curable.
The report, entitled ‘The economic impact of cancer on families in Spain,’ analyses how the disease affects the most vulnerable groups in society including those who are self-employed, unemployed and people with lower than inter-professional salaries.
It reportedly shows that an estimated 1,500 of those suffering with the disease struggle to cope with the costs generated by the disease as it gets to the more advanced stages.
Across Andalucia, almost 20,000 households are forced to take sick leave from the disease, which continues to extend as time progresses.
And at national level, 228,482 new cases of cancer were diagnosed in 2017, with an estimated 25,000 people, almost 28 per cent, at risk of social exclusion due to the disease.
